Monday, 1 August 2016

The astonishing numbers behind Man Utd's mega deal for Pogba

The France international is set to return to Old
Trafford from Serie A champions Juventus as a result of a transfer
involving eye-watering figures

ANALYSIS
When it is finally completed after a saga lasting most of the summer,
Paul Pogba’s transfer will represent a monumental pay-out by Manchester
United. The fact Juventus will receive a world-record fee is just the
start of the roll call of mind-boggling numbers involved in the
Frenchman’s move.
The 23-year-old is set to become a United player again this week,
just four years after leaving Old Trafford for a nominal compensation
fee after the expiry of his contract in 2012. Having seen Pogba depart
for Italy without a single first-team start to his name, the Red Devils
surely can’t have foreseen forking out over £200 million for the
midfielder to return to the north-west of England.
Because that is how much this deal will cost United when all is said
and done. The £92m transfer fee, which surpasses the £86m Real Madrid
paid Tottenham for Gareth Bale in 2013 as the most expensive ever, fails
to cover even half of the total cost to Jose Mourinho’s outfit.

A
large reason for the protracted nature of the deal was the wrangling
over which club would be expected to pay a substantial fee to Pogba’s
agent, Mino Raiola. In a bid to force the transfer through, United
eventually accepted that it is they who will fork out the £20m pay-off
to the Italo-Dutch ‘super agent’, taking the overall fee to £112m.And
then, of course, there is the player’s wages. While Pogba currently
earns around £4m at the Juventus Stadium, he is set to see his salary
increase manifold at Old Trafford. His £400,000 per week pre-tax
earnings will see him pocket £220,000 after deductions, costing United a
total of £20.8m per season.Over the course of his five-year contract Pogba will therefore
command a total of £104m, taking United’s total potential expense during
the course of his stay to at least £216m. As such, it sits high in the
list of blockbuster deals to have been agreed over recent years, even
when taking into account the extraordinary multi-layered packages
involving the likes of Bale and Neymar.

Pogba left United four years ago as a young talent with a bright future
ahead of him. He will return this week as a four-time Italian champion,
one of the world’s best-paid players and the subject of the most
expensive operation in Manchester United history.